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Democratic revolutions upset war profiteers

The influence of Ottawa-based war profiteers shapes Canada’s foreign policies, yet they hide in the shadows, a short walk from Parliament Hill. On 26 October 2007, fifty people gathered to shine a literal spotlight on these merchants of death. It is Canadians — not corporations with a vested interest in selling weapons — who should decide whether Canada continues participating in the war in Afghanistan.

Indeed, the majority of Canadians want the troops to come home, yet the federal government is apparently more eager to appease the war profiteers. The war profiteers exposed by this action were: SAIC Canada, BAE Systems, L-3 Communications, and Raytheon. Each of these four merchants of death has a direct financial interest in the ongoing and indefinite occupation of Afghanistan by Canadian and other military forces.

One section of the business community has been having a rough time this week – spare a thought for the poor arms dealers.

Yes, those noble philanthropists at BAE Systems and their colleagues in the murder-death industry are apparently a little upset at the bad publicity they are getting of late.

These are sensitive souls whose only sin is an uncommon desire to protect the well-being of decent people, like the Saudi royal family and the Gadaffi clan, from the hassle of having to be democratic.

Defence contractors at Idex 2011, the biggest arms showcase in the Middle East, have said they feel “battered and bruised” by the condemnation they are receiving. Bless.

It would be churlish to point out to these wailing warmongers that the people who are really feeling battered and bruised are those on the receiving end of their wonderful products.

The charitable work of these corporations in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to name but a few, does not get the recognition it deserves and it is time to set the record straight once and for all.

These countries just don’t know what to do with all the foreign aid they receive. Therefore firms such as Chemring and Primetake are merely ensuring they spend it responsibly on things like CS gas, stun grenades and baton rounds, not frittering it away on feeding the poor or anything frivolous like that.

But then the bleeding-heart liberals get all upset and start twisting these acts of largesse until somehow they appear to be cynical and exploitative. Oh the humanity.

And then just because it so happens that those same vehicles and techniques are used in the slaughter of pro-democracy protesters, some wrong-headed people draw the conclusion that somehow it’s their fault.

One unnamed – that shows how proud they are of their trade doesn’t it? – arms dealer was quoted this week as whining: “The Middle East was a growing market until a few weeks ago.”

This is the corporate equivalent of the villain at the end of every episode of Scooby Doo who invariably snarled: “And I would have got away with it if it wasn’t for you pesky kids – pro-democracy demonstrators.”